Well, this bottle is very different than the one I wrote up back on 1/5/18. As opposed to last month's bottle, the aromatics on this one are clean and vivid, with what I jotted down as spice box, cedar and lavender. The core of the wine is delicious, with black cherry, herbs, cedar and light touch of vanilla and powdered cocoa. The acidity and solid spine in the wine gives it good structure. Whether it's vintage or winery style (or both), it avoids the heavier modern Napa touch and leans for me more towards the Matthiasson style, more traditional. Enjoyed this a lot, and FWIW, this was the very first wine I tried last night, without food or any other wines so my palate impression here was clean and focused.

Poured blind as part of a mini-vertical of Chetillons. We neither knew the vintages nor the producer. Aromas of white flower and bread dough. When I tasted this, I noticed some red berry quality to it so I had guessed maybe a blend of PN and Chard but as with blind tasting, I was wrong there. Citrus zest, light mineral, saline and a bitter almond kind of thing. I appreciated this for the balance and the way it showed. Very good.

Poured blind as part of a mini-vertical of Chetillons. We neither knew the vintages nor the producer. I did this wine a few years back and I found it then showing more decadence and richness than I would expect from Chetillons so in terms of last night's bottle and the one from 2016, that experience was consistent for me. There is density here, some chalkiness early on and then when it breathed some more, it came off a bit soft and lacking edges for me. Richer and more approachable for sure than the 2006.

Poured blind as part of a mini-vertical of Chetillons. We neither knew the vintages nor the producer. My notes on this start off with the following....."lemon power". This wine showed a presence for me. Bread dough, green apple and plenty of lemony presence. Complex, lovely and lots of depth.

Poured blind as part of a Bouchard flight. We neither knew the vintages nor the lieux-dits. Disgorged 04/2011. Started off reduced to me, which went away with air. Pear, creamy green apple, moderate amount of richness paired against a good amount of lemony acid, which carried very well into a long finish. This drank very good for me.

Poured blind as part of a Bouchard flight. We neither knew the vintages nor the lieux-dits. Disgorge date of 04/2011. When this first hit my glass, it gave off a sherried nose, which caused me to pause. With air, like with the reduction we saw on 2004 Parcelle, it too went away. White flowers, even something that seemed jasmine-like to me. Honey, tangerine, with a citrusy lemon-lime richness.

Poured blind as part of a Bouchard flight. We neither knew the vintages nor the lieux-dits. Disgorged 04/2012. Flinty, with a crushed rock nose. In this wine, my notes say 'like tasting the ground, the soil'. Good structure, lemon-lime, round with a green apple tone that is very spicy, with a long finish. I liked the way this showed and despite the pricing on these that seem to be getting higher, I like what Bouchard does with his cuvees and site-based approach so I am sticking with the journey.

Poured blind as part of a Coeur de Cuvee flight. I saw the label poke out on this one and so I knew we were in this space, as Steve had said the wines were all the same cuvee. So, we knew that much, just not the vintages. This had a caramel-like nose, with an expressive, fresh palate of lime, orange, bright citrus and at 20 years old, a definite presence. This has held up well, and it shows the pedigree for me of how well CdC can age. Lovely.

Poured blind as part of a Coeur de Cuvee flight. We knew we were doing CdC, just didn't know the vintages. When this hit my glass, my immediate thought was dill. It wafted an aroma that reminded me of the sprinkled dill that my grandmother used so often when she made matzo ball soup. Across from me was Brig, who was tasting the wine with me, and he called it 5 spice I believe. Interestingly, as the wine breathed, it did show a definite 5-spice character, too. The composure on this wine is really spot on, with lime, mint, a mix of yellow and green apple, and in this bottle, my belief is the wood elevage really added an extra dimension. This was super good.

Poured blind as part of a Coeur de Cuvee flight. We knew we were doing CdC, just didn't know the vintages. Disgorged 06/2015. Ahh, the 2008. I have been smitten by this vintage of CdC and have some tucked away already for the years ahead. A smoky wood note on the nose, with piercing intensity, orange oil and blossom, lime and such a lovely opulence. The mix of the wood elevage and the higher dose, alongside the acidity, always make this wine stand forward for me. Probably the richest bubbly I buy and drink as I like the leaner side of things, and yet with Vilmart, I remain hooked. Excellent.

Poured blind as the final flight of 12 wines we did last night. There was no theme to the final flight, and this was the only Rose of all 12 wines. 60 PN/40 Chard, which I think is the standard composition these days for the GC Rubis. Pours a light peach color, bright acidity, red fruit and citrus rind. Very good.

Poured blind. Liked the aromatics, which were a mix of floral, green apple and crushed rocks. The palate I enjoyed less, as it had a bruised apple/oxidized quality and the intensity of the wine was a bit soft for me, too. Overall, seemed gentle and lithe and left me with an average impression.

Poured blind. We had no clue as to the producer and vintage, although in terms of any bias we were given, there was some talk at the table as to this being something of a wow wine perhaps. I say that because I want to be candid about bias/influence in terms of my note that follows. I don't believe those short clues influenced me, as I truly sat there with the wine and tried to experience it for myself. Putting that potential bias out there to be fair, I will say this wine was quite the standout. I had never had 1996 Krug before, and my experience with what I was tasting was in that respect unique. The wine shows but a subtlety, a gentleness, and what my notes say 'perfect balance'. Fresh lime, minerality, freshness, youthful. Nothing seemed to stick out of place, everything just folded together. While the bottle was still unrevealed, I continued to swirl the wine and sit with it, and from what I could tell at the table, I might have been the last person to finish their pour. Really a tremendous wine with a long, beautiful finish and the best champagne of age that I have ever tasted. Tremendous.

Poured non-blind, just after we had finished a 12 bottle, blind champagne tasting. I didn't take well to this wine, as it seemed dosed too high or made in a style that seemed too candied for me. Flint, green apple, honeyed and zesty, yet the palate had a sweet edged quality.

Was served from decanter and based on the timing of when we ran into the bottle's owner and when we tasted it, I can say the bottle was in the decanter for at least 2 hours. Light 5 spice aroma, perfumey. Juicy, red fruited, spicy apple and some brown spice. Finishes with some opulence and yet some moderate structure, too. This showed really good to me and left me with the idea of that I need to track more of this down. I remember the only other bottle of this that I had in 2017 and how much I liked it then so this experience reinforced that the wine is continuing to show well and exhibit some really strong presence in the glass.